WRDZ – Waken, Reconnect, Dharma, Zen | WRDZ to enlighten your mind, body and soul.

Listen to Audio Tapes on the Essenes, by Nazariah Below are 6 audio recordings:

Yoga Sutras (01/85) Swami Rama

(01/85) (Lecture 1 of 8, Part 1 of 8 )

Eight lectures by Swami Rama on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali emphasize practical advice on the methods of Yoga and Meditation. The 13 hours of talks have been divided into 85 parts of 10 minutes or less.

Lecture 1 of 8, Part 1 of 8 includes:
yoga used in many connotations, Sanskrit root means to unite or to join, individual soul united to cosmic soul is yoga, samadhi is yoga, prana and apana joined is yoga, karma yoga, jnana yoga, raja yoga, laya yoga, in bible is thy yoke, yoga is not a religion, millions seek truth and self-realization or God as

Just how does Enlightenment/Self-Realization/No-Mind/Liberation happen?

Lao Tzu’s famous poetic Tao Te Ching starts with the words “A way that can be walked is not The Way.”

Realize that it has nothing to do with the intellect or scientific proof, but that of firsthand experiential verification.

Realize that to truly know, rather than knowing ABOUT, involves BEING that which is to be known.

Noble Eightfold Path

The Stairs, The Light, The Window, The TV & Table

I was holding my baby nephew who is only 8 months old, he is the cutest little thing. Lately his new thing is that he likes to point at things.

While I was holding him, he started the point at these 5 things the stairs, the light, the window, the TV and the living room table. In my mind, I didn’t think anything of it, because he loves to point at things now. But when he pointed at these things, it resonated in me as if it was something I should pay attention to. I started thinking about these things and these are the thoughts that came to my mind about these objects.

As mentioned above Buddha can refer to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni or to anyone who has attained full enlightenment. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso explains in Introduction to Buddhism

Awakened One

In general, ‘Buddha’ means ‘Awakened One’, someone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and sees things as they really are. A Buddha is a person who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions. There are many people who have become Buddhas in the past, and many people will become Buddhas in the future….There is nothing that Buddha does not know. Because he has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and has removed all obstructions from his mind, he knows everything of the past, present, and future, directly and simultaneously. Moreover, Buddha has great compassion which is completely impartial, embracing all living beings without discrimination.

He benefits all living beings without exception by emanating various forms throughout the universe, and by bestowing his blessings on their minds. Through receiving Buddha’s blessings, all being, even the lowliest animals, sometimes develop peaceful and virtuous states of mind. Eventually, through meeting an emanation of Buddha in the form of a Spiritual Guide, everyone will have the opportunity to enter the path to liberation and enlightenment. As the great Indian Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna said, there is no one who has not received help from Buddha.

Buddha’s Good Qualities

It is impossible to describe all the good qualities of a Buddha. A Buddha’s compassion, wisdom, and power are completely beyond conception. With nothing left to obscure his mind, he sees all phenomena throughout the universe as clearly as he sees a jewel held in the palm of his hand. Through the force of his or her compassion, a Buddha spontaneously does whatever is appropriate to benefit others. He has no need to think about what is the best way to help living beings – he naturally and effortlessly acts in the most beneficial way. Just as the sun does not need to motivate itself to radiate light and heat but does so simply because light and heat are its very nature, so a Buddha does not need to motivate himself to benefit others but does so simply because being beneficial is his very nature.
Emanations of Buddha

Like the reflections of the moon that effortlessly appear in any body of still water, a Buddha’s emanations spontaneously appear wherever living beings’ minds are capable of perceiving them. Buddhas can emanate in any form whatsoever to help living beings. Sometimes they manifest as Buddhists and sometimes as non-Buddhists. They can manifest as women or men, monarchs or tramps, law-abiding citizens or criminals. They can even manifest as animals, as wind or rain, or as mountains or islands. Unless we are a Buddha ourself we cannot possibly say who or what is an emanation of a Buddha.

The Supreme Emanation

Of all the ways in which a Buddha helps living beings, the supreme way is by emanation as a Spiritual Guide. Through his or her teachings and immaculate example, an authentic Spiritual Guide leas his or her disciples along the spiritual path to liberation and enlightenment. If we meet a qualified Mahayana Spiritual Guide and put into practice everything he or she teaches, we shall definitely attain full enlightenment and become a Conqueror Buddha. We shall then be in a position to repay the kindness of all living beings by liberating them from the sufferings of samsara and leading them to the supreme bliss of Buddhahood.

Taken from: http://www.aboutbuddha.org/english/who-is-buddha.htm/

Life of Buddha – Attaining Enlightenment
The following excerpts about the life of Buddha are taken from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s book, Introduction to Buddhism.

A Suitable Place for Meditation

Siddhartha then made his way to a place near Bodh Gaya in India, where he found a suitable site for meditation. There he remained, emphasizing a meditation called “space-like concentration on the Dharmakaya” in which he focused single-pointedly on the ultimate nature of all phenomena. After training in this meditation for six years he realized that he was very close to attaining full enlightenment, and so he walked to Bodh Gaya where, on the full moon day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, he seated himself beneath the Bodhi Tree in the meditation posture and vowed not to rise from meditation until he had attained perfect enlightenment. With this determination he entered the space-like concentration on the Dharmakaya.

Conquering all Distractions

As dusk fell, Devaputra Mara, the chief of all the demons, or maras, in this world, tried to disturb Siddhartha’s concentration by conjuring up many fearful apparitions. He manifested hosts of terrifying demons, some throwing spears, some firing arrows, some trying to burn him with fire, and some hurling boulders and even mountains at him. Through the force of his concentration, the weapons, rocks, and mountains appeared to him as a rain of fragrant flowers, and the raging fires became like offerings of rainbow lights.

Seeing that Siddhartha could not be frightened into abandoning his meditation, Devaputra Mara tried instead to distract him by manifesting countless beautiful women, but Siddhartha responded by developing even deeper concentration. In this way he triumphed over all the demons of this world, which is why he subsequently became known as a “Conqueror Buddha.”
Attaining Enlightenment

Siddhartha then continued with his meditation until dawn, when he attained the varja-like concentration. With this concentration, which is the very last mind of a limited being, he removed the final veils of ignorance from his mind and in the next moment became a Buddha, a fully enlightened being.